Southern Alberta Newspapers place in AWNA’s 2022 Better Newspaper Competition

Southern Alberta Newspapers

Two publications in the Southern Alberta Newspapers family placed in the top three in several categories at the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association’s AGM and Convention on Sept. 22.

Held in conjunction with the convention at Edmonton’s Chateau Lacombe Hotel, the AWNA’s 2022 Better Newspaper Competition was a chance for the province’s smaller weekly publications to shine on the provincial stage.

Although shut out of any top rankings for 2022, in the BNC General Excellence Award categories The Taber Times placed second for Best Sports Page, and third in both Best Front Page and Best Editorial Page. Lethbridge County’s Sunny South News scored a third place finish for Best Overall.

“It’s no secret the media industry is in a state of transition in Canada, and finding a pathway to sustainability is not easy for any newspaper in 2023,” said Trevor Busch, managing editor of the Alberta Communities Group. “We’re doing the best we can to address the challenges we face in the post-pandemic environment with a more streamlined and focused approach to delivering the news that matters to our readership. The strong showing of publications in our chain and the brilliant work of our writers shows that far from drifting into irrelevancy, we’re still here for the long haul in rural southern Alberta.”

Freelance reporter Cal Braid was awarded second place for the Gordon Scott Memorial Award for Best Feature Column by Local Writer for his column, “The United States is not united – is Canada?” that was published in The Taber Times.

“The writer punches holes in perceived assumptions in a manner that may discomfort some but surely that is their role,” states the justification for the award. “A clever and well thought through piece of prose that develops its argument deftly to leave little room for complacency in the reader’s mind.”